Value

by Kelly Knowlden

What is important will always be the driver for me in any situation.  If I value comfort, I will pursue whatever makes me comfortable.  (What makes me comfortable will change with each situation; if I am not comfortable confronting someone, I will find a way to avoid it; if I am tired and want to be comfortable, I will go home and find something that provides me with comfort.)  Substitute the word “pleasure” or “people liking me” or “ease,” and I will pursue that for the value-factor it holds for me.   

In Proverbs 2, the writer suggests that we should value wisdom most; “...look for it as for silver, and search for it as for hidden treasure.”   Practically that means that I ought to value and pursue wisdom as that which will profit me most.  It ought to replace all other valuable things—not only the money that I think I need, but also those other things I value like those listed above.

At school it looks like this: I will pursue education because I will understand the world that God has made for me to live in.  I will have a greater understanding of relationships between history and math; between stories and truth; between science and health.  I will be able to enjoy life more and be a contributor to the society that I live in.

In the home, it will be the same.  I will be teaching my children to value education and pursue it.   I will do the same.  I will have conversations about all kinds of things with my kids.  And I will pursue Jesus Christ, who is wisdom personified.